My Pain is Yours
Chapter 6: The Bounty Hunt
The morning came faster than Aiko had expected. She flinched upon hearing the door creak open and reached to her thigh where her shuriken holster was. Her fingers touched the tips of the sharp blades. Aiko waited for a voice, but none came. She furrowed her brow; maybe she just imagined the noise? Aiko disregarded it and rolled onto her side, eyelids closing.
Something heavy landed on her head. She blinked, eyes flying opening
"Hey!" Aiko hissed, sitting bolt upright. Her gaze darted to the door where Hidan stood, white teeth gleaming in the darkness.
Folding his arms across his bare chest, Hidan chuckled, saying, "That's yours." Aiko looked blindly into her lap to find an Akatsuki cloak. She ran her fingers over black light fabric and held it in her hands, tracing her fingers along the outlines of the clouds.
"Is this…really mine?" Aiko asked quietly.
"Of course!" Hidan scoffed. "Put it on and we'll meet you outside; don't keep us waiting."
Slamming the door shut as he left, Hidan disappeared, leaving Aiko alone with her sleeping friend. Aiko reached over to Shinsei and smiled sadly as she touched her gently sleeping face.
I guess I'll see you later…Shinsei…
The brown-hared kunoichi stood up and lousily knocked the blankets aside, leaving the bed even more disheveled than when she had been sleeping in it. As she glanced behind her, Aiko heard Shinsei whisper her name once, before she left the room.
"What's taking her so long?!" Hidan whined. "I want to get this over with! Where is she?"
"I. Don't. Know." Kakuzu growled through gritted teeth, almost clawing his own eyes out with desperate fingers. He heaved out a frustrated sigh. "Just shut up already!"
"Hey! Don't you tell me to shut up!" Hidan bellowed, turning his anger on his irate partner.
Kakuzu twitched. "It's bad enough that I have to deal with you! But I don't want to have to deal with two idiots!" Hidan winced at the term, 'idiot'.
"I'm not an idiot!" Hidan exclaimed.
"You know what, you're right," Kakuzu seethed, twitching, "you're a moron!" Hidan had had enough by this point. He blew his top on his partner.
"And you're nothing but a greedy, money-whoring bastard!" Hidan shouted back.
Hearing yells outside, Aiko nervously peeked at her new comrades from behind the door. She was wearing the Akatsuki cloak that had been given to her, even though it was a little too big. She stepped back and inhaled deeply, clenching and unclenching her fists.
Here goes nothing.
"You're just a messed up, misguided individual."
"And you're just a cranky old man!"
"Better that than you."
"Huh?! Do you want to take this outside?! Eh?!"
"We are outside, stupid."
Aiko cautiously approached the pair, wondering whether or not she should disrupt them. It didn't seem like either one was ready to give the other a break. "Um, guys?" Aiko managed, interrupting their dispute while hiding her face behind the large collar.
"What?!" Hidan exclaimed, spinning around. He was about to say something else, but stopped mid-sentence upon recognizing Aiko. "Oh; it's you. Yeesh, where've you been?" He glared at Aiko with a supercilious stare, eyebrows raised.
"Getting changed," Aiko murmured, fidgeting beneath the cloak.
Hidan noticed her discomfort with the exceedingly outsized clothing and chuckled. "Is that so?" A sneer worked its way through his lips. "You know, you're a little too small for that."
Aiko scowled and dryly murmured, "Thanks, I hadn't noticed."
Quirking an eyebrow, Hidan smirked. "So now you're a member of the Akatsuki, eh? I guess that means that you're stuck with the old guy and me until then."
Kakuzu growled at his nickname, 'the old guy' and Aiko continued glaring at him, crossing her arms.
Hidan snorted. "What's your guys' problem?!"
"Nothing," Kakuzu grumbled. I'll get you later. "Now that Aiko's here, let's go."
Aiko? Shinsei squeezed her eyelids together. Where is she?
The redhead blinked tiredly as she was aroused by the absence of her friend the following morning. Her hand lay where Aiko once slept, alone on the mattress. She could easily locate where Aiko once was, as the blankets were turned over and spilling off the side of the bed where she had made her exit. Shinsei frowned, her lips turning into a pout.
Where's Aiko?
Sullenly sliding out of bed, Shinsei kicked the sheets off to the side and journeyed outside her room to explore. Then, her face brightened up upon remembering Itachi's promise to have breakfast with her that morning. Her cheeks went red as a thought passed through her mind.
Now that I think about it, he's better looking than he used to be.
Plodding down the stairs, the redhead arrived just in time for breakfast as Kisame began serving Itachi tea. He looked up, hearing Shinsei's arrival.
"Well, well Gaki, you're finally up?" Kisame greeted with a toothy grin.
"Yeah, I guess," Shinsei nodded, rubbing her eyes. "Where's Aiko?"
"Hm? Oh, you mean Hime-chan?" Kisame laughed heartily. "She left with that zombie pair this morning to go off on a bounty hunt. They've been gone for what, a couple hours?"
Furrowing her brow, Shinsei repeated, "Zombie pair? Are you talking about those two guys that Aiko was with yesterday? The ones that brought her here?" Kisame would have said yes, had he not been laughing so hard about calling them the 'zombie pair'. Itachi shook his head at Kisame's immaturity and sipped his tea unconcernedly.
The Uchiha then got to his feet with a grunt and strode over to the kettle on the stove, turning to Shinsei. "Coffee or tea, Shinsei-san?"
Glancing up at the calm Uchiha, Shinsei requested coffee and scowled at Kisame as he continued his bout of frenetic laughter. Though she couldn't help but wonder what he meant by 'zombie pair', as she averted her eyes to look into her lap. Itachi set the tea down beside her limp elbow.
I sure hope that Aiko's doing alright…
"So this is the guy Kakuzu, eh?"
"Yes; so be careful Hidan or you'll die."
"Whatever! I'm so sick of hearing you say that!"
Aiko stood between Hidan and Kakuzu, fists curled into balls. She could feel the adrenalin rushing through her veins, sparking a blazing fire within her chest. She could feel the burn, the urge to fight energizing her body as a burst of chakra exploded within her.
She wanted to fight.
Their target, a man from Amegakure, trembled in the presence of the three Akatsuki nin. His name was Kohaku, and from what Aiko could see, possessed amber-colored eyes which were shadowed by black bangs. In her opinion, he was actually quite attractive.
"Who are you people?" Kohaku demanded, narrowing his eyes and trying to keep a cool façade about himself. "From your clothing I would say that you are members of the Akatsuki organization, are you not? Members of Pain-sama's cult!"
Hidan stepped forward.
"A cult? Oh please! Alright Kakuzu, let me have this guy; I want him for my ritual," Hidan said with a smirk, withdrawing a rosary from the depths of his cloak; a glinting, metallic triangle inscribed within a circle hung off of it. Aiko's green and gold eyes lit up with curiosity.
Hidan's masked partner pondered the idea for a moment, wondering if he should really let Hidan handle their objective or not. "Fine," Kakuzu muttered, "but I get his partner." His eyes wandered over to the man beside their target. "Both have enormous bounties on their heads."
"Will you be quiet?" Hidan demanded, pressing the beaded necklace to his lips. "I must confer with Jashin-sama before we begin."
"You and your deity," Kakuzu grumbled, "always such a bother."
Deity? Aiko wondered. Is Hidan…religious?
"Hey," Hidan frowned, "the commandments are strict so I have no choice!"
Remaining silent for a moment, Aiko hesitantly asked, "What is your religion?"
Surprised to hear such a question from the seemingly unsociable Aiko, Hidan said in utter disbelief, "The Church of Jashin…" he trailed off, suspicious. " Wait, why do you want to know?" Aiko's cheeks flushed and she nervously averted her eyes.
"So you're using kids these days," Kohaku murmured, running his fingers through his messy fray of black hair. "How barbaric." Aiko frowned and Kohaku's partner, Jun, shifted nervously beside his partner. Kohaku readied himself into a fighting stance. "I will kill you monsters."
"You know what Kakuzu, I'm getting sick of this guy; it's time to attack," Hidan announced.
Aiko stepped back as Hidan whipped out his scythe and sped forward at their enemies.
Kakuzu sighed. He is such an idiot…
"Don't rush in there on your own!" Aiko yelled. How dumb is this guy?!
Ignoring his comrades, Hidan threw his three-bladed scythe at Kohaku and Jun, who easily leapt aside to avoid it. The Jashinist yanked on the rope attached to the scythe and it flew back to slice open Kohaku's cheek. The young man wiped the blood off and smirked.
Before Hidan could catch his scythe, Kohaku landed beside him and raced at the silver-haired man with double swords. Hidan's eyes widened as he felt a sudden pain in his chest, back and stomach; Kohaku had impaled him with both swords from behind. Aiko gasped.
"That'll teach you Akatsuki members," Kohaku growled. "I hit several vital points; you'll be dead in no time."
"Hidan!" she shouted, feeling tears pool around her eyes. Oh no! Hidan!
The kunoichi felt a jolt run through her and bolted forward to help Hidan, but Kakuzu reached over and jerked her back by her arm. She winced, feeling his fingers digging into her skin and stopped immediately. Kakuzu's scarlet and jade eyes glowed.
"Stay here," Kakuzu ordered. "He's fine."
Aiko gasped and looked over.
Driving his swords farther in through Hidan, blood leaking onto the ground through the lethal wounds, Kohaku's eyes flashed as he realized something; Hidan wasn't dead yet. He heard an annoyed snort come from the Jashinist's lips as he shifted around. Kohaku paled.
"Yeesh, ow, are you done yet?" Hidan demanded.
Kohaku hardened his gaze and made an attempt to rip the swords out to tear Hidan in half, but his strength had drained, afraid of the seemingly immortal man. Hidan flinched.
"Will you cut that out?!" Hidan raised his voice. "That fricken' hurts!"
Seeing his partner unable to kill the now irritated Akatsuki member, Jun considered fleeing, when he was attacked by Kakuzu's incoming fist. Jun felt the hard fist slam into his leg and he heard a sickening crack. An earsplitting scream nearly shattered Aiko's eardrums. Kohaku whipped around.
"Jun!" Kohaku shouted to his fallen comrade. He watched in horror as Hidan ripped the weapons out of him and shoved Kohaku away. The Jashinist glanced down at the blood on the ground and smirked, yanking on the rope to his scythe and catching it in one hand. He licked Kohaku's blood off the tip.
"Perfect," Hidan cooed, dipping his foot in his own blood and drawing a circle around himself and then a triangle within the circle to complete the sign of Jashin. He sneered at the frightened Kohaku, who knew not what to do. "Those who don't understand the pain of others shall be punished."
Aiko watched, horrified, as Hidan's form changed in an instant.
Author's Note: Alas! The bounty hunt is coming to an end! :( Oh well…Aiko and Shinsei are finally going to be accepted as members of the Akatsuki in the following chapter!
Thank you very, very much to all those who have been reviewing! Your encouragement gives me the drive to write more and work harder! My goal for this month of May is to get even more writing done!
Again, thank you and please review!
-Aiko of the Akatsuki
